Civics for Young Australians

Civics Education is one of the Whitlam Institute’s key focuses. It runs programs run for primary & secondary school students, inspiring Australian young people to think big & take action on what matters to them. The programs get young people excited about the importance of creativity, personal values & leadership, & the role of government, political & civic engagement.

Civics Education at the Whitlam Institute inspires young people to think critically, and to take action on the things that matter to them.

Our programs get young people excited about the power of big ideas and creativity, the importance of personal values and leadership, and the role of government, political and civic engagement.

How to Think Big

Primary School Program

What would you change if you were Prime Minister? What do you think adults need to hear?

How to Think Big is an invitation for young people to reflect and consider the type of world they would like to inhabit. A creative and interactive workshop that empowers students to find out how to use their voice in a democracy.

Students work through a range of inclusive, engaging activities to consider ways of enabling positive social change.

Students will also learn about an important and tumultuous period in Australian political history through our museum exhibition A Changing Australia: The Time of Gough Whitlam.

This is a full day workshop. Please contact us for pricing and group numbers on (02) 9685 9210 or email info@whitlam.org.

How to Make Change

Secondary School Program

In a complex, rapidly changing world, young people need empowerment to take their place in democratic society, and confidence to understand how they can change their world.

This inclusive, creative and fun new workshop by the Whitlam Institute has been designed for the conscious, the committed and even the hesitant citizen.

Students will reflect on what makes a good leader, learn about different styles of leadership and discover what leadership means within their own lives.

Students will also learn about an important and tumultuous period in Australian political history through our museum exhibition A Changing Australia: The Time of Gough Whitlam.

This is a full day workshop. Please contact us for pricing and group numbers on (02) 9685 9210 or email info@whitlam.org.

Our What Matters? competition attracts thousands of entries from all over NSW, the ACT and Tasmania, empowering young people to think and to write about the things that really matter to them.

Each year the What Matters? entries are thoughtful and passionate. Spanning essays, poetry and prose, they cover an incredible range of themes. By giving young people this chance to express their ideas about society and their world, we are delighted to see that they consistently produce extraordinary results.

Encourage your students to enter the What Matters? competition and find out a little more about what it is that they are really passionate about. You might be surprised.

Feedback on the Whitlam Institute's Civics Education Programs

It fills the educational gap that is not covered in the curriculum.

This is the best platform to give children a voice, at school we are so busy with curriculum and we can never have discussion like this, to explore what matters to children, it is good for their wellbeing and they feel that they are important and they are being heard.

…a perfect start for encouraging students to start thinking about issues in their lives and communities and what they can do about it.

I loved everything, the protest, what matters? Activity, the building, location, the exhibition centre, hands on activities, that’s how our students learn.